This story in the New York Times on web titans collecting the crumbs left by Internet surfers should come as no surprise. IP addresses are a digital fingerprint that tells where you’ve been and where you are. It’s how my laptop displays San Diego businesses in Google text ads.
But the most interesting part of the NYT article is the last paragraph: “A study of California adults last year found that 85 percent thought sites should not be allowed to track their behavior around the Web to show them ads, according to the Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley, which conducted the study.”
Eighty-five percent not thrilled about browser cookies? The figure reinforces the wisdom of Seth Godin, who wrote this book on permission-based marketing. Consumers (whom Godin today calls Citizens) prefer to receive ad messages only after they’ve given permission to marketers.
So, let’s take it one step further. When college students watch soap operas, are they asking to receive ads for Clorox because they may also be cleaning while indulging in daytime television drama? Are Super Bowl viewers (minors included) giving permission to be swarmed with beer ads because people drink Bud at football games? Are Golf Channel fans who enjoy seeing Tiger Woods also asking for Buick information?
Yes, if you follow traditional demographic profiling practices. No, if you believe people are more apt to tune out. Maybe, if you have the click-throughs to prove it.
photo: ilmungo on flickr
